To speak of republican citizenship is to risk
confusion, at least in the United States,
where it is often necessary to explain that
one is referring to ‘small-r’ republicanism
rather than a position taken by the Republican
Party. But just as one may be a democrat
without being a Democrat, so one may be a
republican without being a Republican. The
ideas of democracy and the republic are far
older than any political party and far richer
than any partisan label can convey – rich
enough to make the use of ‘republican’ here
worth the risk of some initial confusion.
‘Republican’ and ‘citizen’, in fact, are old
and intertwined words – so old that some
may wonder at their relevance in the brave
new world of the twenty-first century, and
so intertwined that the phrase ‘republican
citizenship’ seems almost redundant to
others. There is no republic without citizens,
after all; and, according to the classical
republican thinkers, there is no citizenship,
in the full sense of the word, except among
those who are fortunate enough to inhabit a
republic. But this view of citizenship’s connection
to republicanism no longer seems to
prevail. If it did, there would be no need for
a chapter on republican citizenship in this
volume of essays on citizenship, for the
authors would simply assume that citizenship
entails republicanism and go on to
other matters.
There might also be no need for this
chapter if it were not for the revival of
scholarly interest in republicanism in recent
years. Such a revival has definitely
occurred, though, and occurred simultaneously
with a renewed interest in citizenship.
This coincidence suggests that republican
citizenship is well worth our attention, not
only for purposes of historical understanding
but also as a way of thinking about
citizenship in the twenty-first century. Why
this revival has occurred and whether republican
citizenship truly offers anything of
relevance or value today are thus the subjects
of this chapter.